I just want to thank you for the EXCELLENT thread! I have learned a million and one things from this thread! I desperately need a new "separate" preamp to compliment my Anthem PVA5 as my NAD T163 died on me. The information I have learned here has been invaluable!

Cirrus Logic posted a press release dated April 17th, indicating the CS49700 was now released in production volumes.

Slight correction, or maybe not so slight: that press release is dated April 17, 2007.

(And, based on the evidence we have, the press release turned out to be highly inaccurate, because there have been long and continuing delays in final release of the CS4970xx family of Audio DSP chips to consumer electronics manufacturers!)

Great thread Eric. Has anyone tried the onkyo and really compared it to an older higher quality processor like the Meridian 568.2 or 861? I am a 100% home theater guy and was wondering how the onkyo in lossless would compare to say a Meridian 861(high bitrate DTS) while watching the same movie in bluray? Also, How many rack spaces is the Onkyo?

Great thread Eric. Has anyone tried the onkyo and really compared it to an older higher quality processor like the Meridian 568.2 or 861? I am a 100% home theater guy and was wondering how the onkyo in lossless would compare to say a Meridian 861(high bitrate DTS) while watching the same movie in bluray? Also, How many rack spaces is the Onkyo?

Actually, there are a bunch of Onkyo threads running, and I have seen several posts from people who have compared the Meridian and Onkyo. Do a search and you can likely find them. I think the consensus is the HBR codecs are audibly better than a high quality version of the lossy codec like DD or DTS for movies. 2 channel is a different story.

I think the consensus is the HBR codecs are audibly better than a high quality lossless for movies.

Don't want to sidetrack this excellent thread , but this doesn't make sense. An HBR codec simply compresses the lossless version into something smaller. The only way there should be any difference in sound quality would be if there's a sampling freq or bit length difference. I.e., 16/44.1 vs 24/48 for example. ??

If it's not worth waiting until the last minute to do, then it's not worth doing.

Be aware that the AV8003 appears to have the same restrictions on surround modes & Audyssey EQ with HBR codecs as the SR8002 has - namely that neither surround modes nor Audyssey can be used with HBR sources.

Be aware that the AV8003 appears to have the same restrictions on surround modes & Audyssey EQ with HBR codecs as the SR8002 has - namely that neither surround modes nor Audyssey can be used with HBR sources.

Very interesting. If you just take a quick look at the features and specs pages, you would not notice these limitations.

Appreciate you pointing this out. Please continue this helpful service!

Page 37 implies that Audyssey is not operative with Dolby TrueHD or dts-HD. If so, that is very unfortunate.

. I had high hopes for that unit.

Since the pre-pro situation is still pretty slim pickings I think I'm going to go with one of the Blu-Ray players with analog outs that are due in the not too distant future. That should tide me over until there are more pre-pro options.

Im looking into the Marantz seperates but noticed that the Classe sp-800 is coming out as well. Its alot more pricey!! , Do you guys think the price of the classe justifies its performance? This will be my first introduction into seperates and i want to be wowed with my new purchase.

Im dissapointed that the Marantz doesnt use Audyssey processing with high def audio playback.

Im looking into the Marantz seperates but noticed that the Classe sp-800 is coming out as well. Its alot more pricey!! , Do you guys think the price of the classe justifies its performance? This will be my first introduction into seperates and i want to be wowed with my new purchase.

Im dissapointed that the Marantz doesnt use Audyssey processing with high def audio playback.

I find it disappointing that there is no room equalization capability in the Classe pre-pro and I am uncertain if it can decode both kinds of lossless HD audio--somebody correct me here if incorrect. Classe means quality, but for its price, it should have some kind of room equalization and IF it is missing lossless HD audio decoding, that would also be a shame.

OTOH, there is not much else out there other than the Onkyo, Denon AVP (a rumor that no more units will ship to the US until June...), Marantz and now the Classe when it comes to pre-pros that do HDMI 1.3

I am uncertain if it can decode both kinds of lossless HD audio--somebody correct me here if incorrect.

The SSP-800 does not do HD bitstream audio decoding initially - it will be PCM only. There is a promised upgrade to come that will provide HBR decode capability. See post 219 and post #245 above and the related links.

The SSP-800 does not do HD bitstream audio decoding initially - it will be PCM only. There is a promised upgrade to come that will provide HBR decode capability. See post 219 and post #245 above and the related links.

And from what i read in the avsforum , They should be equal in sound quality but some people say that the bitsream done by the pre/pro has a slight edge!!! Is that true?

Or would the PCM signals along with this 64 bit TI chip working together create a better experience than a bitsream signal with 32bit chip capabilities

They should be equal in sound quality but some people say that the bitsream done by the pre/pro has a slight edge!!! Is that true?

opinions vary on this - sometimes strongly, and I don't want to re-ignite that debate in this thread. There are a number of threads that have discussed this point already, so I would suggest doing some searches in this forum. I think there are pros & cons in both directions.

I find it disappointing that there is no room equalization capability in the Classe pre-pro and I am uncertain if it can decode both kinds of lossless HD audio--somebody correct me here if incorrect. Classe means quality, but for its price, it should have some kind of room equalization and IF it is missing lossless HD audio decoding, that would also be a shame.

It is supposed to have a parametric EQ which would require some knowledge and care in its use, as opposed to an autoEQ feature.